Dear Editor,
I listened to a JCN talk show when I heard a well-known caller, Sparkey, comment on crime. One of the things he said was what I have been saying for years.
We don't make guns here so they were brought in by crooks. Sparkey told the host of one of his experiences. He said he left Coral Harbour and traveled to the U.S. on a yacht and returned on the same yacht to Coral Harbour. The yacht was not searched by any law enforcement agency, i.e., immigration, defense force or customs.
By this, Sparkey confirmed what I said previously, special interest people with a different hue are smuggling the guns and their children are not being gunned down.
Twenty years ago, Mina Outten held a one-day conclave at Workers House. As a presenter, I spoke about immigration reform, suggesting that everyone should have a national I.D. card, similar to the U.S. green card. Well, 20 years later we now start the process.
Minister of Immigration Fred Mitchell said it would not be mandatory for Bahamians, but foreigners and those with work permits would have to carry an I.D. card.
Immigration carried out a road block last week. A foreign executive of an offshore bank was stopped and detained because he was not carrying I.D. This created a great media uproar. What was most disturbing to me was that Cabinet ministers are not on the same page.
Minister Mitchell, who is responsible for immigration, was in total support of his officers. As a no-nonsense man you can take his word all the way to the bank and if he said his officers acted according to the laws of The Bahamas, I would take it to the bank.
The other minister, Ryan Pinder, needs to tell Minister Mitchell and the Bahamian people what he found out that Mr. Mitchell does not know.
Everyday black people, especially the ones from the Caribbean, are locked up and it is rarely reported in the local media. When Cubans are locked up it is all over the media. Why is that?
In 2009 I went to Atlanta on a business trip. I was stopped at least five times at check points. I did not have a problem with it because I was in their country and they were doing their job. If Minister Pinder is in an apologetic mood, then he should go to Atlanta and get them to apologize to me.
-- Audley D. Hanna Sr. JP.

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